22,000 salmon flee to sea through hole in fish firm’s net

A FISH farm lost 22,000 salmon after they escaped through a hole in a pen net, the company has said.

Grieg Seafood Shetland farms, which produces salmon for consumption in the UK and harvested more than 13,500 tonnes of fish in 2016, operates seven underwater salmon pens at Loch Snizort off the Isle of Skye containing around 426,000 fish.

Divers made the discovery that an estimated 22,000 salmon weighing 2kg each had escaped, during a routine check on Feb 11, it was reported.

Grieg Seafood, which employs approximately 700 people, said it had launched an investigation.

Grant Cumming, the managing director, said the firm immediately secured the net and said the firm’s priority had been to prevent further escape.

A local fisherman told The Scottish

Sun it was unlikely the fish would survive outside the pens in the wild.

He said: “The site is very exposed and it’ll go through wear and tear. But if you have thousands of dead fish floating around then it’s going to cause issues.

“We’ve experienced this before, and I’m telling you the smell is revolting.”